How do you integrate a small garden room into your landscape design?

Whether you’ve got a passion for flowers, you’re a dedicated lawn keeper, or your garden is a completely blank canvas the idea of introducing even a small garden room can be a daunting one. How do you know if won’t overwhelm your space? And how do you design a small garden room to enhance your garden? With over a decade spent hand-crafting beautiful garden rooms we’ve got the answers to all your garden room landscaping questions. So, stay put for our top tips on how to best integrate a small garden room into your landscape design.

1) Choosing the size to fit your garden

Size does matter. If you’ve got a small courtyard garden, then cramming in a large garden room isn’t exactly sensible. So, let’s talk size.

• • How big can I build without planning permission?

Let’s get the boring bit out of the way first. Footprint wise, your small garden room cannot cover more than half of the land around the original house. Height wise, your garden room can’t be taller than 2.5m unless you’re building over 2m from the boundary line. So, for small garden rooms you shouldn’t need to worry.

• • No rear garden access? No problem.

There’s no need to let access issues restrict the size of your planned garden room, even with no entry via the back. If, like Eden, you find a small garden room company that build from scratch, you’ll find they can easily transport materials through your house without a fuss and very little mess, unlike the prefab equivalents.

• • How small is too small?

Comfortably small garden rooms start from 3m x 2m. Depending on what you plan to use your room for, you’ll find these dimensions are ample for a home office, compact garden gym or even entertaining space. Bespoke smaller plans are available, but we wouldn’t recommend going much less than this unless you have some super smart plans for the interior to avoid your small garden room feeling too snug.

2) Choosing your location

You can’t plonk your small garden room just anywhere and expect it to work. Picking the best spot is a balancing act between form, function and a little of what you fancy.

• • Looking for peace and quiet?

Whether for work or play, it’s advisable to nestle your small garden room away from the main house and avoid areas often used for play. While quality soundproof plasterboard and glazing treatments can be fitted to dampen sound, we’d always avoid choosing a location that is prone to being extra noisy.

• • Angled for aesthetics? 

We might be biased but we think our garden rooms are rather stunning. So, we don’t think it matters too much whether you see the front or side of your garden room from the house. However, think about how you’ll use your garden. Would you like your small garden room to open up onto a sunny sitting area? Would you prefer to look at the house from your garden room or indeed angle your building so you can enjoy a view of nature? Perhaps the ideal place on paper is also the spot you had earmarked for your veg patch? There are no strict rules. Draw out a rough outline of your garden, keep an open mind and try your garden room in a few positions. Even better still, ask an expert designer who will be able to offer their insight. If you have the luxury of a bigger budget, then a bespoke-build triangular plot could be a brilliant option. Ultimately, position your small garden room where you think it will have the most positive impact on how you use your garden.

3) Blending in with its natural surrounding

Here are a few garden-enhancing ways to integrate your small garden room into your outdoor space.

• • Natural by nature

The wonderful thing about most quality garden rooms is that they’re constructed and clad in attractive, hardwearing natural wood. Redwood Cedar, the prime pick of the Eden designers, is chosen not only for its lovely golden hue but also because it weathers beautifully over time. So, be sure you ask about the long-term look of your small garden room’s cladding when considering your options.

• • Maximise your external your living space

A wraparound decking is a great way to make your small garden room feel like a well-integrated part of the garden, while also giving you a wonderful extension to your living area. Available in both quality, natural-looking long-lasting composite and the same hardwearing Cedar as your building’s cladding, either look will sit harmoniously together while blending comfortably into the natural surroundings.

• • Make a feature wall

Why not turn an external wall of your small garden room into an eye-catching focal point. From nature-inspired wall-mounted art to industrial-style planters you can have fun creating something unique that brings your space to life.

• • Bring new life to your planting

While we see no need to hide or disguise our small garden rooms, you may want to screen yourself away to help with privacy, or simply add interest to your garden. Quick-growing evergreen shrubs like the colourful Red Robin are a great choice as a year-round feature. Alternatively, a potted plant like the ornamental Olive Tree with its lovely grey colouring will complement your small garden room’s cladding as it weathers. Add another dimension with a Bamboo. They give out a wonderfully calming rustle in the wind but do grow like crazy, so keep them in strong containers.

4) Wild inside

You could also consider integrating your garden into your room by bringing a little nature indoors.

• • Your very own green house

Why not choose floor to ceiling glass doors (available in both bi-fold and sliding formats). Not only will this help your small garden room feel light and roomy, but it’ll also offer big views of your natural surroundings from inside, which we all know is fantastic for mental health and wellbeing. Externally the extra glass will offer pretty reflections of the sky and nearby foliage. And even better still, you’ll be able to throw open the doors on sunny days to welcome the outdoors in.

• • Grow your own decorations

From small and quirky, like the Venus Fly Trap, to hardy growers like the dramatic Snake Plant, there are plenty of feel-good indoor plants that will grow happily in a small garden room that’s both well-lit and well insulate. However, you needn’t be the next Monty Don to enjoy a small garden room bursting with greenery. A whole host of artificial alternatives are available, including the latest trend for look-alike living walls. And don’t overlook a bouquet of dried flowers to bring a splash of colour.

• • Reflections of nature

Hanging multiple mirrors inside is a great way to spread light but also bring views of the garden in.

• • Natural walls

While every Eden comes finished to a high standard with plastered walls painted in the colour of your choice, there’s nothing to say you can’t add a little extra colour in the form of a feature wallpaper. From artfully abstract to the brilliant botanicals, there are lots of fabulously natural prints to explore.

As you’ve seen there are plenty of tricks you can use to help integrate a small garden room into your back yard, to make the most of your space and give the new addition the feeling that it’s always been part of the landscape. You just need a little imagination, and maybe a shovel. Speak to our team and let us help you build the small garden room you’ll be wild about.